Personality[]
Like most dragons, this scaled beauty is a sharp, dignified beast with equal interest in the size of another's heart and the size of a cache of treasure. Although this ancient beast tries her very best to keep her claws to herself, she does not believe that violence is always out of the question and will not shy away from a fight if her reputation or her home is under threat.
And that's before we mention the devastatingly powerful magic that emanates from this ancient sorceress.
History[]
Youth and the Colony[]
Dehmra was hatched, like most dragons, from an egg lain by the queen of The Colony. She, plus her 60-odd 'twin'-siblings, was raised in a traditional draconian fashion; the strong become hunters and warriors whilst the weak were taught manual skills like digging and building and generally benefiting the colony with expansions and luxuries.
The hermaphroditic youngling soon proved to be as adept as any of her other siblings, perhaps even more so due to her unnatural gift in the art of magic, perhaps more specifically, her necromancy; able to frighten and blackmail her less-gifted 'family' until she was satisfied and successful. These magical skills grew only as Dehmra did; fast and efficiently. There was no honorable place in the colony for a dragon who couldn't fight and hunt and kill, at least, not for the young Dehmra, who soon found herself gaining more attention via her skills than perhaps she would have ever bargained for.
Conscription and Human Greed[]
It should come as no surprise that the greed and gold-lust of a dragon is matched only by the born determination and ever-expansive hunger for land that humans seem to exhibit. It did not take much longer for the racial conflicts between the two mighty species to take a more violent turn for the far worse. As Dehmra reached the young age of 84, she was conscripted into the great wars as little more than a front-line swordsman, her reputation as a powerful hunter earned her some safety but her true ally was her dark magics and her deadly claws. There are never many loses with a necromancer at hand.
Dehmra was as efficient as any of her peers and as faceless as any other Arytiss, warrior; she killed her enemy and attempted to protect as much draconic land as possible. However, the will of humanity was just as strong as the reptiles it fought against and, after two centuries, the fighting was ultimately suspended indefinitely; the fighting and the warring coming to an end, both sides coming to reluctant conclusions that there was no true chance of either side winning without endangering their own species forever.
That is not to say that the old wounds are completely healed. Dehmra distrusts humans, fearing that one day someone may try to add her to the thousands of others who died for their cause. Perhaps this is why the dragoness keeps her old armour and sword hidden within her den, carefully preserved for the day that she must take up arms again to defend her people.
The Fledgling Adventurer[]
With the following depression of the draconic homelands, many dragons were allowed to leave their colonies in search of new homes; many of them would leave ruins or destitute cities that had seen the worst of the war. Although her home wasn't destroyed or obsolete, Dehmra still left The Tailspike Mountains in search of adventure; the passion for battle and the desire to see the world beyond the battlefields was still fresh in her 'youthful', 296-year-old mind and soon she began to explore the rest of the continent for a decade or so before trying to find somewhere safe upon the other great landmass.
This vast land would be where her adventuring days ended, but not before Dehmra spent a few more decades making herself as useful as possible around the vast world that she lived in. The dragon would come to save lives, rescue children and even add her own offering to the gene-pool in some corners of the continent, if you know what I mean. Finally, her gadabouting adventures finally stopped in the small settlement community of Earnwold which, at the time, consisted of little more than a fort, a few farms and a run-down temple that offered little more than a single shrine and a handful of benches for the pilgrims to pray at.
As above, so below[]
The Temple of Earnwold grew slowly, seeing many new priests and priestesses over the course of the centuries that the dragoness stayed there. At first, she was simply another visitor, looking for a place to stay but, in time, Dehmra learned to love the settlement and the temple within. Friends came and went; people were born and grew old. A few familiar faces would show up every few decades, but then they would stop, only to be replaced by new faces.
The dragon had spent centuries within the temple, tending to the religious leaders who eventually came to rest in the cemetery beside it. She even started to build a home in the long-abandoned catacombs below, giving her a place to stay when things went south for her. Word traveled fast within a growing country; necromancy was still frowned upon and many had not forgiven dragons for their part in the now long-forgotten wars.
As time progressed, the people of the world began to forget about the conflicts that stained their soil with blood and the hatred towards the darker aspects of magic began to dissolve nicely. This allowed the dragon to leave the confines of the temple once more, although even to this day, Dehmra maintains the building as best she can, still living beneath it in the now redundant crypts and doing her best to make sure that the priests and priestesses have someone indispensable to their work.
Her current employer would be the Priestess Vicky of Indel, who provides the dragon with company, companionship and a place to live.
Abilities and Skills[]
Combat Ready[]
The dragoness was, for all intents and purposes, a warrior for a time. She is no 'grand master' with the sword, but she is well aware of how to handle one. Claws and teeth are a natural asset for any great dragon and the unique ability to breathe fire is often a dragon's favourite resolve.
Arcane Ability[]
Dehmra, like some of her more select siblings, has an uncanny ability in the art of Necromancy. Her skills are considered legendary to those who knew her from before, though these days the dragon doesn't have nearly enough opportunity to show off her skills. This does not mean, however, that she doesn't use them. Her ability to sense and seek out the souls of those around her means that the dragoness is never lonely; both the living and the dead can provide hours of comfort.
Her other magical abilities are well honed and immensely powerful also; curses, charms and even combat magic has had the benefit of nearly a thousand years worth of practice. Combining this with her magic-proof scales, Dehmra is one mean spellcaster.
The Mundane[]
Working within the Great Temple of Earnwold has brought about the need to learn some domestic skills that Dehmra would never have learned in her hometown. Cooking and cleaning being the major two to name, though the ability to maintain a large building and the lands around it are needed also.
Although not so much a necessity, the dragoness has picked up social skills that seem acceptable for the temple, including guest greeting and the likes. I warned you this was the mundane section.
Territory[]
Although this would seem rather 'old fashioned' for any modern dragon, the dragoness still follows some basic draconian hospitality rules. The Temple of Earnwold and the surrounding lands generally fall into her 'territory', meaning that Dehmra has an uncanny sense of knowing just when another draconic being has entered it.
Perhaps this new person is a guest and will receive some well-preserved hospitality. Or maybe, just maybe, it's someone who wants to cause trouble. They'll find it alright.